Letting Go
by Jaky
Summary: The war has ended, and now the people of Haven and Spargus are left to pick up the pieces. Keira has some decisions to make about her life after the end of Jak 3. Whether or not they will be good ones has yet to be seen.


This story is a follow-up to the one I'd written previously, _Having a Bad Day is an Understatement._ This story will be rated PG-13 unless/until I feel the need to change it due to mature content that may or may not appear in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, nor am I making any money off of this little fic. I'm doing this simply for my own entertainment. The _Jak_ series is copyrighted to Naughty Dog.

So, without further ado . . .

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Keira had always thought herself an intelligent girl. She was a master mechanic and engineer who'd invented the zoomers that the people of these times drove around and the rift rider that brought her to this future. Not to mention the hover board that Jak rode around on through the city and desert not long ago.

So why in the hell couldn't she see this coming?

A stupid question. She couldn't concentrate on anything but all the chaos that plagued the streets of the city, so of course she wouldn't have known until it was right smack in her face. Just like it was now.

Jak hadn't come to her like he usually did. This time it wasn't just Daxter with him when he returned from yet another stint of saving the world. Don't get her wrong, she was glad that Sig had been with him. The wastelander was terribly reliable in battle situations from what she could tell. It was the other that was clinging to his arm that got her in a tiff.

Keira had spent many hours waiting, worried, for Jak to return from what was essentially a suicide mission, and he comes strolling in with Ashelin hanging on his left arm like some trophy wife. Keira was in a state of shock, not even the fact that Daxter was apparently a precursor registered in her mind. She stood next to her father and watched as Jak prepared to leave with the other furry gods without any thought as to what to say to him.

An even bigger shocker: Jak is really the descendant of Mar; the man who'd built Haven city and its defenses. The satisfied look on Ashelin's face didn't escape Keira's notice when Jak decided to stay.

The next few weeks went by relatively quickly. Some of Haven's inhabitants were given boarding at Spargus while the city was being rebuilt to hospitable levels. Jak had left on many occasions to assist in exterminating the metal-heads that remained in what used to be the farming district. But when not on missions, Jak spent much of his time with Ashelin. Keira had seen them together on many occasions; sometimes they would even ask her to join them. She would always refuse, of course; always came up with one excuse or another. Sometimes she wondered whether or not they knew how all of this was making her feel. Every time she let them down on their offer, they'd give her this look . . . a knowing look.

Keira found herself to be _very_ busy all the time. Her father had told her – never suggested – that she had to take time off from her ridiculous schedule. But she would have no such thing. Who can think of relaxing when there was so much work to be done? Besides, working kept her mind off other matters, like her shattered love life.

This led her to wonder, did Jak ever have feelings for her other than friendship? She suspected that he might have had a small crush on her in their younger days, and during those months he spent fighting the Baron. However, he'd never spoken of his feelings for her, so she had no way of knowing. Daxter wouldn't be a reliable source of information. The few tidbits that she'd gotten from him about Jak's state of mind back then certainly worried her, for his thoughts were all centered on vengeance. And the few bouts of jealousy were nothing more than the huffs of a male establishing his dominancy over a territory. Damn those testosterone-ridden men and their over-blown egos.

A few times Keira had found them at the cliffs, standing together atop the turret tower and gazing out at the ocean. She'd stare at them for a few seconds, her face totally devoid of emotion, and walk on. If she ignored them the pain wouldn't be as bad.

This, however, was easier said than done. Jak had decided to start taking Ashelin out in the desert somewhere along the line, and they'd spend quite a bit of time at the garage as a result. Just her luck.

The moment she saw them acting differently with each other than usual, she knew. She knew by the way they'd embrace each other; by the way they'd kiss before hopping into a dune buggy; or even the way Jak's hand would linger on her body for just a few seconds longer . . . that they'd started sleeping together. Ashelin practically glowed, and Jak walked around with a far-off yet smug look on his face. There was no doubt about it.

The day she realized she stopped what she was doing and ran to the room provided to her by the wastelanders. There she'd spent the rest of the day crying until she exhausted herself later that night. The next day she didn't come out until her father threatened to break down her door if she didn't at least eat something or have a drink of water. She emerged a total mess. Her hair tangled and matted and dark circles under her eyes. When asked if there was anything wrong, she merely responded, "Cramps," and shut her door.

She'd ignore them, not say a single word to them or even spare them a glance. She would wipe them from her mind completely. Besides, she had always wanted Jak to be happy, and that wish was fulfilled. Funny though, she'd always thought that she'd be the one to make him smile they way he did for Ashelin.

Surprisingly to Keira, months had gone by in a flash. During that time she'd kept busy, whether repairing or building the desert vehicles prized by so many wastelanders, or spending her afternoons racing around on the leapers. She was always busy. But, her relationship with Jak had deteriorated to such a degree that he no longer even acknowledged her presence. He was probably feeling hurt by her distant behavior.

She didn't care anymore. She wouldn't. Caring meant that she still had feelings for him, and that meant that he could still hurt her. All she cared about was getting work done here in Spargus until Haven was deemed livable once again. And when the stadium was rebuilt, she would build a new racing team, one even better than the last. And she would forget all about the blond hero and his love.

It all happened so quickly. Keira had been in the garage changing the oil on the Desert Hopper, when they burst in. Three Freedom League soldiers rushed past with a very bloody, _very_ mangled-looking Ashelin. She stood and watched them hurry by through the door to the city and disappear. She looked down at the trail of blood left behind by Ashelin, and she couldn't find it in herself to feel any sort of pity or care. This in turn scared her. Someone she'd known for years could potentially die, and she couldn't quite care enough about it to feel even the slightest bit worried. Well, worrying over that harlot wouldn't get any work done. Pushing those thoughts aside, she continued her tinkering.

Jak returned not long after Ashelin was brought in. He must have gotten word of her condition while out on the field. But instead of running past her without an acknowledging glance like usual, he stopped and stared at her, with a most penetrating gaze, for a few seconds. Her countenance was as stoic as always, clearly telling him that anything that happened in the next few minutes or hours was of no concern to her. Jak turned his head in the direction of the palace and raced off.

Ashelin had died. She'd known when she heard that inhuman scream rip the air an hour after Ashelin was brought in. she knew Jak would be devastated, he tried to tell her when he passed by. Just continue ignoring him, she'd told herself.

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Yeah, I know, it's kinda on the short side. I started writing this thing a few months ago, and coming back to it is rather tough. Just know that this story will be multi-chaptered, so you can expect more to come, but I make no promises as to when these updates will be. So, tell me what you think of it. 


End file.
